


The Music You Send Me

by NoaMilk



Category: Octopath Traveler (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Fluff, M/M, also his trust issues arent that bad, everyone else is just mentioned, not a lot of problems really, ok alfyn therion prim and tress are the only ones actually there, primrose and tressa are only there in the chat, primrose was a theater kid, therions thief escapades are hinted at but never mentioned
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-16
Updated: 2020-06-16
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:47:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24754996
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoaMilk/pseuds/NoaMilk
Summary: He clicks on her page and scrolls through her videos. They're mostly recordings of songs from plays she's performed in and original songs, though not all written by her. There's a tall girl with a braid and a girl with short dark hair in the background of most of her videos. And a very big cat. There’s also a boy, usually playing with the very big cat. His hair reminds him of a character he saw in an animated show Tressa showed him once.
Relationships: Alfyn Greengrass/Therion, Primrose Azelhart/H'aanit
Comments: 2
Kudos: 51





	The Music You Send Me

Alfyn is almost sure his soulmate is one of the most devout followers of Aelfric he'll ever know.

He doesn't know a lot about his soulmate. He doesn't know their gender, or name. His soulmate has never gone out of their way to do those things other people do to find theirs, like recording themselves singing their name and home address in the tune of a song. What he does know is that they listen to hymns more than just one day a week, and that’s very telling.

It was a regular occurrence when he was a child and was old enough to process what he was hearing, which were mostly lullabies and hymns to Aelfric. That was when he learned about soulmates from his mother. The lullabies and hymns stopped when he was seven.

Starting from there, music from his soulmate was rare. He didn’t hear much aside from occasional piano and the music they play at the mall. This lasted until he was thirteen.

When he was fifteen and in eighth grade, the music stopped altogether. No piano or calming music. It just stopped. Zeph went on about how his soulmate was always playing classical music, but at the time, he couldn't even hear light tapping from his soulmate's side.

He couldn't stop thinking about the possibilities. They could've been in a coma, or they could have lost all hearing. But he never, ever wanted to entertain the possibility that they were dead. He wouldn't have known, and he tried not to think about it.

That changed when he was seventeen and he heard music from the soulmate who hadn't listened to anything in two whole years. It was so sudden that he tripped, and Zeph gave him a funny look. He then proceeded to explain how he was finally, finally hearing from his soulmate after two years of silence. Zeph laughed at his enthusiasm.

The music was somewhat exotic, purely instrumental, and sounded like something he heard when his mom brought him to the Sunlands to visit a friend.

For a while, he hyperfocused on every tiny bit of the music his soulmate listened to (and they listened to music fairly often now) despite the fact that the music was a little different from his tastes. They ranged from foreign robotic voice synthesizers to original music from the Sunlands. He could never keep up, but they were nice to hear either way.

Then suddenly his mom passes. Not too long after, Zeph's father follows after her.

He was alone, and so were Zeph and Nina. The little girl hadn't even reached the double digits yet. They only had each other.

For a time after that he fell into a dip, and oftentimes sat alone, deaf to everything except the music his soulmate was playing. It was oddly comforting.

The hymns became a normality again when he was 19 and out of Clearbrook on a scholarship at med school, though they aren't often the voices of a chorus. It's the soft voice of a lone woman, singing hymns directly to his soulmate. They last for a few hours, at least three days a week.

But it wasn’t as if the onslaught of prayers to Aelfric were going to help him find his soulmate, considering there were a whole lot of devout followers out there, and hymns aren’t very specific. Granted, it was also a mix of songs from rock bands he didn't know and robotic voices, but it wasn't much.

He wished his soulmate would've at least given him a hint.

He's in the middle of a lecture when the opening music to what he assumes is a play starts, followed by the voice of an actor. It's a woman with a sultry voice, smooth like honey, the volume amplified by a mic. He feels like he's heard her voice before, either from his soulmate or Tressa. Maybe both.

For two hours, he listens to the sounds from a play he doesn't know the name of. All the short jingles and other songs playing in his mind.

Later that day, he hears the same woman with the honeyed voice from earlier, singing a song to his soulmate with a very nice acoustic guitar accompany, and decides to search up the lyrics of said song.

He finds some videos online, bootlegs of an older adaptation of a play adaptation for a movie and discovers that it's in the theaters for two weeks in Noblecourt. He finds out the name of the actress with the sultry voice, Primrose.

He also finds out that Primrose has a video channel.

He clicks on her page and scrolls through her videos. They're mostly recordings of songs from plays she's performed in and original songs, though not all written by her. There's a tall girl with a braid and a girl with short dark hair in the background of most of her videos. And a very big cat. There’s also a boy, usually playing with the very big cat. His hair reminds him of a character he saw in an animated show Tressa showed him once.

He passes by a video with a thumbnail of said boy holding a guitar. He doesn't bother reading the title before he clicks it.

The man is sitting on a couch, guitar in hand. He can tell the video wasn't meant to be an official recording, if the somewhat muffy sound quality and comfortable couch setting are anything to go by, but it has him enraptured more than any other song has.

His voice is powerful and smooth. It's smooth, and Alfyn has to admit in all honesty that it's pretty sexy. He turns his volume up until it's as loud as it could possibly be.

His fingers move to play the chords, only every so often, but they move in practiced movements, like he's played it a million times before.

He doesn't leave the video until the man has looked up from his guitar and at the camera with embarrassment and surprise written on his face. It morphs into a scowl as he makes a rude gesture at the person behind the camera and starts yelling at her for taking a video without his permission. The person (probably Primrose) giggles in response and the video cuts there.

In the aftermath if the video, the earth feels like it's shifted. He knows the song— it's one his soulmate listens to every so often. He tries his hardest not to scream while he's typing out his text.

> Alf: !!!! Tress watch this video
> 
> Alf: youtube.com/watch?v=TherionIsSuchANerd
> 
> Tress: what is that???
> 
> Alf: cmon just watch it
> 
> Tress: okay?
> 
> Tress: oh hey it's from Primroses channel
> 
> Alf: you know her?
> 
> Tress: yeah!!! shes a really popular actor on broadway
> 
> Tress: the guy might be her friend
> 
> Tress: hes singing a song from a movie that came out a few months ago
> 
> Alf: cool but that wasnt why i sent it
> 
> Tress: then whyd you send it???
> 
> Alf: the lady in the video was singing to my soulmate earlier
> 
> Alf: and hes hot
> 
> Tress: alf thats so gay
> 
> Alf: yes i know but theres something about him!!!
> 
> Tress: maybe hes your soulmate?
> 
> Alf: I dont know but I found the channel because they were listening to a play earlier
> 
> Tress: why don't you try commenting?
> 
> Tress: you might get a reply
> 
> Alf: what do I say?
> 
> Tress: uhhh
> 
> Tress: ask her if she knows anyone that listens to Aelfric hymns on the daily
> 
> Tress: but dont be a creep about it
> 
> Alf: they dont listen to them everyday
> 
> Alf: but alright

He scrolls to the comment section of the video.

> Alfyn Greengrass: hi! I was wondering if you maybe knew my soulmate? I think you were singing to them earlier today around 5??? they listen to a lot of hymns to Aelfric.
> 
> Sent. Now all he had to do was hope that she received the notification amongst all the other comments on the video.
> 
> Alf: sent
> 
> Tress: nice

Alfyn spends the rest of that night listening to the video of Primrose's endearing and very sexy friend on repeat.

* * *

The next day Alfyn is bombarded with messages from Tressa. At six in the morning. He groans and opens up her texts.

> Tressa: alfyn!!!!!!
> 
> Alf: good morning?
> 
> Tress: she replied to your comment
> 
> Alfyn is fully awake now.
> 
> Alf: really???
> 
> Tress: really!! check the video.
> 
> He pulls up said video. She's right— Primrose replied.
> 
> BewilderingGrace: Maybe I do. Who are you?
> 
> Alfyn replies immediately.
> 
> Alfyn Greengrass: My name is my username. Im just some guy looking for my soulmate.
> 
> He messages Tressa again.
> 
> Alf: I replied. i hope she sees it soon!!
> 
> Tress: nice
> 
> Tress: I have classes at 8, so Im gonna start getting ready. talk to you later!!
> 
> Alf: sure

With the reply sent and Tressa on her way to classes, he tries to fall back asleep. He's anticipating the reply and the silence is almost suffocating, but he's too tired to do anything about it.

He wakes up two hours later and figures out the grumbling feeling in his gut is his stomach telling him he's hungry, so he gets up and starts cooking his breakfast.

When he sits down to enjoy his egg and toast, his phone pings again. He reaches

for it and almost stumbles out of his chair before righting himself and checking.

It's Primrose.

He enthusiastically opens his phone with a mouthful of egg and toast shoved into his face.

BewilderingGrace: Email me your number. My email is in my description.

Alfyn returns to her channel's homepage and finds her email on her page. He copies his number and pastes it onto a blank email without a subject and sends it with a screenshot of the comment he sent.

He gets a text two minutes later.

> Unknown: this is Primrose.

He quickly names her contact.

> Alfyn: hey!! This is Alfyn, sorry if im bothering,,
> 
> Primrose: I'm not bothered.
> 
> Primrose: tell me more about your soulmate.
> 
> Alfyn: he listens to hymns a lot
> 
> Alfyn: but never on sundays
> 
> Primrose: mhm.
> 
> Alfyn: uh
> 
> Alfyn: punk rock? is that what its called??
> 
> Alfyn: also idk what its called but robotic singing???? i dont know the lyrics, dont know the language either
> 
> Alfyn: acoustic guitar
> 
> Alfyn: they went to your play yesterday
> 
> Primrose: listen to something random, right now.
> 
> Alfyn: huh? why?
> 
> Primrose: I'm with someone who fits your description decently enough.
> 
> Alfyn: oh
> 
> Alfyn: ok wait
> 
> Alfyn leaves to open up a recording of Nina singing Fly Me to the Moon. When the recording ends he checks his chat with Primrose again.
> 
> Primrose: just asked. what did you play?
> 
> Alfyn: it was a recording of my friends sister singing fly me to the moon
> 
> Suddenly he hears a little melody played on an acoustic guitar. It sounds distinctly like the lullabies he used to hear as a kid from his soulmate.
> 
> Primrose: did you hear anything?
> 
> Alfyn: just now??? an acoustic guitar
> 
> Primrose: well, maybe you are the real deal. are you free right now?
> 
> Alfyn: yeah, I don't have classes until 5
> 
> Primrose: I'm going to call.
> 
> Alfyn: sure!

Alfyn accepts the call before it even has the change to ring a second time and leaves it on speaker. He shoves on a shirt and tries to make himself presentable in case she asks for a video.

When the call connects, there are muffled "Hya!"s in the background on Primrose's side.

"Hi." The sultry voice he heard yesterday says into the mic.

"Hey! Uh, this is Alfyn."

"I know." Primrose says, amusement present in her voice. His first words in and he already sounds awkward. Cool.

"Um, so.."

"He's here." Okay, so it was a he. He was a boy. Maybe it's sexy anime man. He hopes so.

Primrose turns on her camera and turns it to face a man with a messy head of white, lounging comfortably on a couch with a console in his hands, almost completely drowned in a purple jacket. His fingers are clicking buttons nonstop.

It is sexy anime man.

"Say hello." Primrose tells him playfully. He doesn't even glance up from the screen.

"Fuck off, I'm busy. If you're streaming then call Yusufa to join you instead."

"I'm not streaming."

"Then tell Cordelia to just message me and I'll check it later." He doesn't know who Cordelia is, but sexy anime man sounds very annoyed when he says her name.

"It's not Cordelia either." Primrose laughs.

With a few last "hya!"s and a victory jingle from his game, he finally looks up from his console.

"Then who is it?" Sexy anime man asks in his sexy anime voice.

"Take a guess." Primrose suggests, and sexy anime man groans, very sexily.

"Cyrus?" He asks, lowering his game.

"Nope."

"Just tell me who it is." He demands.

"It's your soulmate." Primrose finally says. Sexy man's eyes widen at the mention of his soulmate, then narrow as he goes back to his game.

"Don't you want to say hi?" Primrose asks.

"I don't care that Aelfric decided to let some random person hear what I'm hearing. It doesn't change the fact that they're a stranger to me."

"It's a hot boy." Primrose says suggestively. Sexy man flips her off. He ignores the fact that Primrose hasn't seen his face yet.

"Fuck off." Primrose chuckles before turning off the camera and presumably entering another room.

"Don't let his attitude get to you. He's really not that bad." Primrose explains. Alfyn nods, but it isn't as if she can see him.

"He's a prickly one." Alfyn observes. It isn't meant to offend, simply an observation.

"He's soft, deep down. His name is Therion."

He still thinks 'Sexy Anime Man' is a very accurate way to describe him.

"You think maybe I could meet him?" He asks. Primrose hums in response.

"Maybe, but I can't set him up for any dates at the moment. I'm busy." He vaguely remembers Tressa explaining how theater runs work, and that they have rehearsals throughout performances.

"Yeah, me too. I've got school."

"He's basically a neet, and only ever leaves to get groceries or entertain himself. He's free most of the time, so text me if you ever feel like meeting up. I'm sure I can get him to get up and about somehow."

"Alright! I'm free on the weekends." Alfyn explains.

"How about Saturday two weeks from now?" Primrose asks.

"That works, thanks a lot!" Alfyn says, and he's sure there’s a stupid grin on his face.

"Oh, and send me a selfie later, so I can send it to Therion." He can practically hear the wink in her voice.

"Roger that!"

"I have to go now, call you some other time." And she doesn't even wait for his goodbye before ending the call.

He stares at his phone for a good 10 seconds before slamming his head into the table. Then, he remembers what Primrose asked of him, so he reluctantly picks his head up and fixes his hair to take a picture that was decent enough.

> Alfyn: 12343658746352.jpeg
> 
> Primrose: at least he can't say I was lying when I called you a hot boy. you should fix your hair.
> 
> Alfyn: thanks people tell me that a lot

He doesn't think he'd be able to wait two weeks.

* * *

He waits two weeks. It's painful, and he's absolutely certain that Zeph is tired of his ramblings.

"Now that I'm in Noblecourt, I think I'm underdressed." He tells Zeph through the phone. His friend sighs.

"Alf, I think it's be worse if you showed up overdressed and looked too eager. What are you even wearing?"

"That green sweater that we got matching ones for Aelfric's Day."

"Pants?"

"Jeans, and the shoes I always wear."

"That's what you always wear, Alf. Plus, I don't think it matter if you're underdressed. I'm sure it looks decent enough."

"But—" Zeph cuts him off.

"But nothing. If he thinks you're underdressed then he's either a priss or one of those privileged kids, and you deserve better than that."

Well, that was one way to put it, but Therion didn't exactly come off as a privileged guy to him.

"I don't think he is."

"Then just go to the cafe already. Stop calling me and go to the guy. I'm ending the call now, call me again after your date." He says before ending the call without hearing his goodbye.

He gets another notification from Primrose. He opens up her text.

> Primrose: he says he's already there.
> 
> Alfyn: ah,, Im in the market area? Ill be there soon
> 
> Alfyn: what kind of magic did you perform to get him to meet me?
> 
> Primrose: I told him I'd let him crash for another week before he has to go back to the Clifflands.
> 
> Alfyn: oh. he lives in the Clifflands?
> 
> Primrose: maybe.
> 
> Primrose: you should hurry up and get to him, or he'll doubt you're coming and bail out.
> 
> Alfyn: shit okay
> 
> Alfyn: ttyl

He quickly pockets his phone and runs around looking for the cafe Primrose mentioned. He doesn't doubt that Primrose can help him get another date with Therion, but he doesn't want to make a bad first impression by not showing up.

When he passes by a typical cafe sign with the name Primrose said it was called, he entered surveyed the area for any hot white haired guys. Not something he usually did, but he hopes he'd be doing it a lot more in the future.

He finds a shaggy head of white and a tired looking face in the darker corner of the cafe, and Alfyn has to suppress the urge to comment on how it looks like those scenes in the movies where the guy is waiting for an informant to help with a mission.

Well, the shady people in movies usually aren't as hot as Therion, but still.

Therion has a half-drank frappe on the table that suggests he's at least been here long enough to be able to order a drink and consume it.

He approaches the table and taps it gently, and Therion looks up from his phone. He doesn't know if it's just the fact that Therion is sitting and he's standing, but he looks small.

"Heya." He greets and can only hope his smile isn't as stupid as he feels it is. Therion stares at him for longer than strictly necessary before replying.

"..Hi." He says, his voice sounding better in real life than over a call or recording. He takes the seat across from Therion. Even when he's sitting down, he can see the top of Therion's head. It's adorable, but he doesn't think commenting on his soulmate's height would be a good first impression.

"I'm Alfyn." He doesn't know how much Primrose has said about him, but he would've introduced himself anyway. He tries for a handshake.

"Your hair looks hideous." Therion comments in lieu of his hand, a sigh in his voice as he wraps his hand around his frappe (strawberry, sweet) and takes a sip. He rests his head in his other hand. The barista seems to have spelled his name wrong, because he's pretty sure that 'Therion' is spelled with an 'e,' not a 'y'.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." Alfyn chuckles. "I tried cutting it short, but it looked worse."

"Couldn't you have, I don't know, combed it at least?" Therion waves his drink around in a gesture, and Alfyn runs a hand through his hair.

"I did! It just looks like this."

"I'm almost thankful of mine, now that I've seen yours." Therion says. He glares down at the table and fiddles with the straw of his drink.

It's awkward, so Alfyn decides to do what he always does in an awkward situation.

Talk the person's ears off.

"You know, I saw a video of you on Primrose's channel. You know how to play the guitar?" He tries. Therion glances up at him. His eyes are green. He never noticed that.

"A little." Therion admits. He doesn't seem to have anything else to say, so Alfyn continues.

"I think that's really cool! I can't play any instruments. You have a really nice singing voice, too." To his surprise and immense amusement, Therion groans.

"I told her not to post any videos of me doing that..." Therion grumbles.

"But it's true, ya know? You should sing more often."

"It's not something I do often." Therion says, but Alfyn sorta gets the feeling that's not the case. When Therion sang, he sounded confident. The kind of confidence that only came from people who sang a lot.

"Whatever you say." He chuckles. Therion looks away in response.

"I heard you watching that. Do you even know how annoying that is? I was in the middle of something, and you played it on repeat."

"Oh, sorry about that, then. I was scrolling through Primrose's channel and I found you." Alfyn says. Was flirting now a good time? Was it too early? Did he even want to be in a romantic relationship with Therion? Did Therion even want to be in a romantic relationship with Alfyn?

Well, Alfyn's always been one to do things before thinking, and this time is no different. His mouth is in control of himself when he rambles on like the madman he is.

"You were cute, so I clicked on the video." He smiles. His brain thinks it could come off as sort of creepy, but his mouth seems to disagree with his brain like it always does.

"Everything felt different when I watched it, so I commented on the video. I'm really glad I did. It's nice to finally meet my soulmate."

Therion looks at him incredulously, obviously gaping, and grabs his frappe and drinks a good amount of it.

"You're definitely one of those guys who think with their dick." Therion says, meant to be an insult. Maybe it was insulting to others, but again, Alfyn isn't known for being normal.

"Sometimes, yeah, but not all the time. I swear I'm not just here for sex!" He says, a little too loudly, and a few eyes drift towards them. Therion's death glare sends their heads turning the opposite the direction.

"Do you even feel shame? Are you even human?" Therion asks in a whisper. Alfyn raises his hands and flexes his fingers, wriggling them around.

"Who knows, maybe I'm a ghooost..." he whispers. It wasn't his best joke, but he doesn't have enough self-preservation not to make it.

"Ugh, you're so embarrassing, you know that?" But Therion says it with just the slightest ghost of a smile on his face. It's gone when Alfyn tries to return the gesture.

"So, are you going to get a drink?" Therion asks. Alfyn shakes his head. He has his water bottle in his bag.

"Nope, water is my best friend, and drinking coffee now will ruin my sleep schedule later."

"Huh. Okay." The conversation derails a little there, and he really can't think of anything else to say. He still wants to make this the best date possible, though.

"So, you want to hang out somewhere else?" Alfyn prompts, pointing towards the door, a hopeful smile on his face.

"..Alright." Therion says, with just the faintest hint of his own smile.

When Alfyn returns back to his apartment that night, he has a new number saved onto his phone, and the ghost of Therion's hand in his.

**Author's Note:**

> guh,,, im not very satisfied with the ending, but i wanted to get this done with and move on. i hope its still enjoyable. the music isnt really that important either, but the song therion was supposed to be singing was ashes from promare.


End file.
